Kron Moore left Detroit for Atlanta and is now scary first lady of 'Tyler Perry's The Oval'

Julie Hinds
Detroit Free Press
Kron Moore, originally from Detroit, plays First Lady Victoria Franklin on "Tyler Perry's The Oval" on BET.

Kron Moore is not a terrifying person in real life, but she plays one on TV.

The star of BET's "The Oval," who's from Detroit, says she draws on several inspirations to reach the level of scary necessary to become first lady Victoria Franklin on the series.

”I went back to ‘Dynasty’ and Diahann Carroll and loving (her character) Dominique Devereaux as I was growing up watching her,” says Moore. “And Meryl Streep, who’s one of my favorite actresses, in ‘The Devil Wears Prada' ... And Angelina Jolie in ‘Maleficent,’ I think she’s wicked but misunderstood.”

If Victoria sounds over the top, the character is totally in keeping with the guilty-pleasure style of "The Oval," the prime-time soap opera created, produced, written and directed by entertainment mogul Tyler Perry.

Moore describes the show, now in it second season, this way: “It’s a wild, crazy-train roller-coaster ride, and we’re having a blast doing it."

Officially titled “Tyler Perry’s The Oval,” the series was ignored by TV critics and roasted on social media when it premiered two years ago. But it has performed well in the ratings. The first season's finale in July 2020 drew more than 3 million viewers, according to Deadline. 

The very first episode of "The Oval" began with a knockdown, drag-out brawl between Moore’s Victoria and her husband, Hunter Franklin (Ed Quinn), who were identified to viewers as the nation’s first interracial first couple only after their fight broke up.

The story lines have swirled with scandals that range from secret love affairs and child kidnapping to gruesome murders. Much of the mayhem unfolds inside the White House. 

In a recent episode, Victoria taunted her seemingly psychopathic son at the White House dinner table by calling him “Hannibal” and saying: “You think you scare me? You don’t. Please come at me. Please do. Play crazy all you want. I go crazier!”

Although it took a while to get used to being a fictional villain, Moore says now, “I find a lot of humor in it, so I have a lot of fun with Victoria.”

Ed Quinn, left, Kron Moore and Lodric D. Collins in a scene from BET's "The Oval."

"The Oval" has been a game changer for the actress, who acted in musicals and plays as a child growing up on the west side of Detroit and sang with R&B and soul groups as a teen. After graduating from Southfield High School, she studied at Western Michigan University before transferring to the University of Alabama and pursuing pre-med courses. 

Moore says she was drawn back to performing after earning a bachelor's degree in psychology. “When it’s something that’s in your gut, you have to follow. ... It’s kind of one of those things that chose me, I didn’t choose it,” she says.

She made a solo album in 2002, but admits her career as a recording artist “was short-lived because the industry is so brutal.” While studying at the Specs Howard School of Media Arts in Southfield, one of her teachers encouraged her to get a talent agent. She followed the advice and started booking jobs in TV commercials and theater.

Moore appeared in several musicals locally, including “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” and “Little Shop of Horrors." She also landed smaller roles in TV and film projects that came to Detroit for Michigan's film incentive program, which was highly competitive from 2008 through 2015. She appeared on ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” and played a teacher in the 2014 tornado disaster flick “Into the Storm."

“The industry was picking up in the Detroit market. I thought it was a good time for me to delve into it," she says. "It was good while it lasted, for sure.”

More:Tyler Perry has become Hollywood's latest billionaire, according to Forbes

When Michigan ended its film incentive program, Moore turned her focus to another major filming hub, Atlanta, the home of Tyler Perry Studios. “It was my assumption that I would come here and be able to pick up where I left off,” she says. “And that wasn’t the case. It took me quite some time to develop the relationships with casting directors here.“

After working twice as a day player on Perry’s productions, Moore was asked to read for Victoria on “The Oval.” She wasn't sure the part was right for her, so she decided to put her own spin on the character and make her quietly ominous. A few days later, Perry himself reached out to offer her the role. “It was pretty surreal,” she recalls.

"The Oval" debuted in October 2019, the same month Perry opened his huge 12-soundstage studio facility on the former site of Fort McPherson, an Army base. The show is part of a long-term deal between Viacom and Perry, the creative force behind the “Madea” movie franchise and TV shows like “The Haves and Have Nots.”

This year, Perry made Forbes magazine's billionaire list for the first time, but he's not resting on his achievements. Perry is on the set of “The Oval” constantly, working from “our call time until we wrap, every single day,” according to Moore. "I’ve never seen anyone work as hard and as diligently as he does."

The cast and crew maintain an intense filming schedule. Perry usually takes just 2½ weeks to shoot an entire 22-episode season. “We generally get one take to perform, and so it’s kind of like the soaps and it’s kind of like theater," says Moore. 

Kron Moore of BET's "The Oval."

She remembers breaking down in tears after an early scene that called for her to throw a bucket of water on her sleeping daughter. But she has gotten comfortable in the role and says the cast is supportive and prepared for the fast pace. “We all understand the assignment, right? So when we go in, we know what’s expected of us."

Moore says Perry also helps keep the mood upbeat. "You never know what might come out of his mouth. Every now and then, you might here Madea show up on set, and it’s just a hoot."

Perry was among the first producers to jump back into filming last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. He set up quarantine bubbles at his Atlanta facilities for people working on projects like "The Oval."

Moore says strict regulations kept the cast and crew safe and created a sort of camaraderie inside the bubble. "Initially, of course, it was a little bit frightening. But Tyler approached the cast on a Zoom call. He presented to us the idea of a camp quarantine. He said that if everyone wasn’t on board, that he wouldn’t do it. ... He started testing us a couple of weeks prior to camp." 

Moore thinks “The Oval” can give viewers a break from the numerous real-life anxieties of life in 2021. ”With everything that’s gone on over the past couple of years, 'The Oval' has been an opportunity for escapism for people. ... It does give us a bit of a reprieve from all the heavy stuff that’s going on in the world now.”

Just don't expect the plot to slow down for the remaining episodes of the show's second season — or the upcoming third season, which Moore finished filming a few weeks ago.

How much more over the top could things get? Says Moore with a laugh: "I can’t wait for you to see where it goes. It's insane!”

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.

'Tyler Perry's The Oval'

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